this is where I stopped when the light got very poor this afternoon ...
One step back from this ..
Must admit I kept getting sidetracked as each time I went into the kitchen to make coffee (and I get through a lot of coffee when drawing) I kept seeing little birds at the feeders hanging from our trees.
Each time I got my camera ready the birds disappeared. Reminded me of the 1989 Kit Kat advert where a photographer spends hours at the zoo trying to capture footage of the pandas - they wait till he takes a break (with a Kit Kat of course) and turns his back on them and they emerge from their den on roller skates and perform a lively dance ... disappearing again when he's finished his snack. Does anyone else remember that ad??
Despite all the false starts ... I did manage to catch some of them unawares at various times of the day. I'm sure there will be more opportunities in a couple of weeks' time when all the berry/fruits have finally been eaten and the birds will be more dependant on the fatballs and seeds we put out for them.
Here's a few of my pictures from today. They are taken through double glazed windows but I'm not too unhappy with the results.
Starlings tend to visit in large groups and chase the other birds off. They are noisy and argumentative and very, very greedy. A plus point is that in their haste to polish off the fatballs they drop lots of bits so the ground-feeding birds benefit afterwards.
This house-sparrow stood his ground for as long as he could against the starlings. He's certainly tucking it away here ...
and a Dunnock. The easiest way to distinguish between the female House Sparrow and the dunnock is the shape of the Dunnock's beak which is longer and more pointed than the House-Sparrow's. Its a much shyer bird than the House-Sparrow.
A lovely blackbird who was feasting on the pyracantha berries
A lovely little Blue Tit. We get Great Tits and Black Caps at the feeder also, but they weren't being very obliging today.
Male Chaffinch - this is a bit misty looking but it was raining at the time
a Jay. It was getting dark by the time he turned up so not the best picture but despite their size our local Jays are quite timid and don't spend long feeding in the garden. I just love the fabulous blue colouring in their wings - very distinctive when they're in flight.
Well that's it for today ... more art tomorrow and hopefully I'll have got the spaniel advanced enough to be able to email my client for critique/acceptance.
Wonderful work on the little spaniel. You seem to be progressing quickly with it too.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that KitKat ad before, must have just been over there. It's cute though and does stick in your mind!
Great bird photos too. My fave is the blackbird in the pyracantha but the starling is so unusual looking. Of course, our birds are mostly different from yours so it's fun to see photos of the ones we just hear about!
Ah spuggies, we get lots of them here as well as the ubiquitous starling. Our blackbirds are quite different though with red and yellow on their wings. Love the bird pictures.
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